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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29758452">Hear me Roar</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlushPanda/pseuds/PlushPanda'>PlushPanda</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Wilds (TV 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, Fluff, prompt fills, shapeshifter!au</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 23:34:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,960</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29758452</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlushPanda/pseuds/PlushPanda</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In the Alaskan wilderness, a colony of shapeshifters go through their daily lives, and Shelby is new to town.</p><p>OR </p><p>Everyone’s a shapeshifter.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Shelby Goodkind/Toni Shalifoe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>47</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Toni sees Shelby</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Oh snap, another shapeshifter AU. No one saw THAT coming. I wonder what the genre will be (spoiler alert, it’s fluff).</p><p>Fair warning that I write this by filling prompts, so it will be choppy, but in chronological order.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Toni was taking her time as she walked through the darkened village of wooden cabins. The crisp night air tasted of burnt pine and alcohol, and there was music and cheering in the distance. All the signs were pointing towards a bonfire near the outskirts of town.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She paused in her trek, feeling an invisible tug at her subconscious. Glancing around, she nearly jumped at the sight of two glowing eyes watching her in the dark. “Jesus Christ,” she huffed, taking an exaggerated step back. “Why the fuck are you lurking in the dark like that?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It took a second, but she recognized the blonde as Shelby, the new girl.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">At least she thought that was her name. She hadn’t really been listening when Ellie said they’d given shelter to a stray.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Shelby was seated on one of the many logs that served as benches, huddled into herself with her arms folded in front of her stomach. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to.” She eyed her a little apologetically. “I’m not feelin’ too well.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Toni blinked, simultaneously wishing she’d ignored her instincts to look over and feeling sympathetic to the girl who seemed to struggle with fitting in. With a sigh, she made her way over Shelby, and slid onto the bench next to her. “What’s up,” she said simply, turning to face her, slouching comfortably.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Shelby looked at her with a small, incredulous smile. “Really?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Toni shrugged. Anyone who sought asylum was welcome in the village. The community was tight, whether it was shifter instinct to create a pack or not, and Shelby had joined it. “You’re one of us now,” she said, giving her shoulder a little push with a closed fist. “Lucky you.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The smile grew more genuine, and she averted her eyes. “Lucky me,” she echoed, trailing off.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“So,” Toni began, purposely cutting through the tension that was threatening to take over, “what’s up.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m feelin’ a little warm?” she asked, like Toni would somehow know better. “A little restless?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Toni frowned, wondering if maybe she <em>did</em> know better because Shelby was raised by humans. “How much do you know about—“</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Enough,” Shelby interrupted with a sigh. “My parents are human, but my grandmother wasn’t.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Toni grinned. “Got that question a lot today, huh?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Shelby gave a shake of the head, raising her eyebrows as if saying ‘you have no idea.’</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Okay. When was the last time you shifted?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Shelby blinked, staring blankly into thin air for a good long moment. That in itself was enough of an answer.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Toni had pegged her for a herbivore at first, but after seeing the flash of canines when she smiled, she felt more comfortable assuming she wasn’t. Which is why Toni knew exactly what she needed to do to get her to shift.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Toni loved to roar.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She’d had a lot of practise, roaring to prank people, to communicate, to blow off steam. And now, she was using it to scare the everloving shit out a green shifter.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Probably not the best decision she ever made, but it worked.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Shelby was a blur of pale fur, her clothes ripping audibly, and Toni hadn’t properly closed her mouth yet before a great big lion stood in front of her, lowered to the ground in a defensive position, baring its teeth.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Whoa!” Toni laughed, clapping her hands once. “A lion. That’s cool.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The lion snarled, pupils large and focused. Its ears flattened into its neck as its paws grasped the ground underneath it.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Toni felt the hairs at the back of her neck stand on end, and she grinned in the face of, well, the lion. Shelby had seemed to vacated the premesis in the face of overwhelming instinct. “Oh, you wanna play?” she said, getting up slowly. She steered them towards the edge of the forest, taking careful steps backwards.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The lion kneaded the ground in anticipation, following her every move.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah? You’ll have to catch me first,” she announced with a cocky smile, then without waiting for any sort of reaction, started running into the wilderness.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Her ears picked up the whisp of a sound that released the floodgates of adrenaline. It was all the indiciation she got of the incoming pounce. Born from instinct and play fighting experience, Toni dropped flat to the ground, and watched the pale lion crash into some tall grass and dead wood.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">With a victorious grin, she leaped up, and ran in the opposite direction, dodging trees and roots like she had so many times before. It didn’t take long for the mess of crushing twigs and shrubbery to become the pounding of focused footsteps.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Messy, wild, and loud, the lion announced its attack once again, and Toni jumped to the side at the last possible second, rolling out of the way as the giant feline crashed into a young tree and obliterated it.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Holy fuck,” Toni gasped with a laugh, then stopped abruptly when the lion whipped its head to her.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She zoomed off again, hearing the grunts of the raging animal follow her, and dodging every time it pounced. Thankfully, it was too energized and frustrated to learn her moves, and she kept their little game of not-tag up until the lion slowed down.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Toni bent forwards to plant her hands on her knees, panting. Turning sideways, she shot the lion a look. It flopped down where it stood, breathing out a great huff. “Feel better?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The lion, whose eyes looked more human than a while ago, grunted.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">That was all Toni needed to be convinced Shelby had taken the reins again. She straightened up and walked over. “Come on,” she said, patting Shelby’s fluffy shoulder on her way back to the village. “Let’s get you dressed. Then we can join the others.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Shelby craned her neck, following her with her eyes until she was out of sight. She slow blinked once, then got up to saunter after her.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Shelby sees Toni</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>From the prompt “Shelby sees Toni’s animal form for the first time.”</p>
<p>Nobody:<br/>Absolutely nobody:<br/>Me: stuffs Dina and Ellie cameos in everything</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Ellie sat down in a chair at Shelby’s table with a plate of spaghetti and a tall glass of water. “You’ve found yourself a guide,” she said instead of a greeting.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Shelby looked up from her lunch, chewing her food for a second longer to process what was asked. She remembered Ellie saying something about newcomers instinctively drifting towards another shifter that would be especially attuned to them. It sounded a lot like some version of soulmates to Shelby, but she hadn’t commented on it. “Sadly, I haven’t yet.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Ellie smiled, twisting her fork into the spaghetti. “That wasn’t a question.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Shelby watched as Ellie shoveled the generous bite into her mouth, eyebrows raised. “Excuse me?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Ellie chewed quickly, gesturing with her fork in her direction. After an unnecessarily dramatic moment, she finally swallowed. “You’re wearing Toni’s flannel.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You can tell?” she asked, slightly flustered. Though really, she was glad to finally know the name of the girl that had helped her not a few nights ago. She hadn’t seen her around since she’d loaned her clothes after shifting unexpectedly.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Of course.” All of Ellie’s movements slowed, and her face was unreadable as she looked at her. “You’re, uh, not aware of our heightened senses?”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">With a little groan, Shelby put down her fork and covered her face with her hands. “I am, but everything is so overwhelmin’. I didn’t even think—“ She rubbed the frustration from her eyes, then lowered her arms back onto the table. “At least I can focus while I’m—the shirt just has a nice smell.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Ellie snorted. “That’s gay.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She froze at the words, the icy grip of fear slithering along her spine. Her face must have betrayed her initial reaction, because the next thing she knew was Ellie’s slightly panicked explanation.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I mean, I’m also gay. My girlfriend is bisexual, and I’m pretty sure like 90% of the compound is queer.” She held out a hand in a placating gesture. “We’re basically the majority here.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Shelby let out a nervous chuckle, averting her eyes. She rolled her shoulders, trying to shake off the sudden tension. “I know, I’m sorry. Your first reaction is the one you’re taught and the second is the one you strive towards and all that.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Ellie sent her a sympathetic look. “It might not look like it, but this is—“ Distracted by an unknown, she turned slightly in her seat, looking over her shoulder. “This is... the safest place for us,” she finished softly, attention somewhere else.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was uncharacteristic for her, and Shelby was about to ask if she was okay, when a fox’s face popped up over the edge of the table. It appeared on the side Ellie wasn’t paying attention to, and, after the briefest eye contact with Shelby, nabbed one of Ellie’s meatballs straight from her spaghetti. Then, it was gone just as fast, leaving Shelby astonished and amused at what just happened.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Weird,” Ellie muttered, straightening in her seat. She gave their table a once-over, like she had noticed something was off, but didn’t know what.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Shelby wasn’t about to snitch, and just smiled at her. “Everything okay there?” she asked, catching a flash of an orange tail before Ellie whipped around to the other side.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The fox appeared on the opposite side again, honing in on another meatball. Except this time, Ellie turned around faster than anticipated and caught the fox with a meatball in its muzzle. “You little bastard,” she laughed, making a grab for it.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The fox yipped at being caught, slithering out of reach before Ellie could get a good grip on it. It scampered to Shelby’s side, where it gobbled up its meatball prize.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Shelby tried not to smile at the proud little face the fox pulled as it licked its chops. It was tempting to give the cute furry face a ruffle. Remembering the easy way Toni had given her a pat as a lion, she succumbed to the temptation and reached down.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The fox flinched once it noted the approaching hand, but after a quick sniff of its wet nose, it deemed Shelby worthy of a pat.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Shelby gave it a scritch behind the ear, and almost laughed when its eyes closed and its tongue lolled out of its mouth.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Don’t encourage her,” Ellie grumbled, pretending to have been had by the hyjinx. Her following words were for the fox. “Get your own food.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The fox huffed, ears flattening into its neck indignantly. It shot Ellie a look that could kill before trotting away.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">At that, Shelby did chuckle. “Who was—that.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The fox walked away further into the building, and to no one’s surprise but Shelby’s, it shifted back into its human form. A very familiar, naked female form. The change was so sudden and unexpected in the middle of the cafeteria, that she couldn’t remember to avert her eyes from those back muscles, or the scarred bite marks on her shoulder and side.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Nobody batted an eye as Toni disappeared into the hallway on her way to God knew where.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">When Shelby finally tore her eyes away, Ellie had her eyes squeezed shut and was pinching the bridge of her nose, looking all kinds of exasperated.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I guess that answers the question,” Shelby said, slowly becoming aware of the heat in her face now that the obvious distraction was gone.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Ellie lowered her hand to the table. “Sorry about that. Most shifters feel as comfortable in their human skin as their furry counterpart.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh?” Shelby shifted in her seat, still trying to find her balance after... that.</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’ll talk to her about it, don’t worry.”</span>
</p>
<p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Shelby thought maybe she was the one who could use a talk, but she didn’t feel confident enough in her shifter knowledge to really say anything, so she let that slide, too.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>What am I doing, nobody knowssss.</p>
<p>Beta-ed by goshdarnitjay. Coincidentally, she’s also my prompt supplier and her hobbies include rUINING MY DAY (I’m kidding, it’s great)</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Beta-ed by goshdarnitjay. I write when she doesn’t use the brain cell we share, so expect sporadic updates (finger guns).</p></blockquote></div></div>
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